In the United States if someone is convicted of a crime it is considered an event of public record. This means that the conviction record is public and anyone can go to the court clerk’s office and search files for records of conviction. The only exception to this rule is if the conviction has been sealed by a judge. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and state criminal offices keep huge databases on convicted citizens, but accessing these databases is restricted. To perform a free criminal record search I suggest starting with these free sources.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons: This site is a great first step to finding out if a person has a criminal record. You will need the individual’s first, middle and last name, sex and race to perform a successful search. Results include, release date (actual or projected) and release locations. If you do get a hit, you know that the person has a criminal background. Unfortunately this is the only information available on this site.

Google: Try typing in the person’s name you want searched into Google and add the word “defendant” at the end. Words you can also try are “sentenced” “arrested” and “found guilty.”